Informational Interviewing Questions

Back when we were gearing up for the Networking Mixer at the LSA meeting, we reached out here to ask for people’s favorite informational interviewing questions. Thought I would share with you the results! See below for the questions we used:

What kind of linguistics did you study? Do you use that area in your work, or more general linguistic knowledge?
How did you make the transition from linguistics to your non-academic field?

What’s the best thing about being a linguist outside of academia?

Do you think it’s worth it to go to grad school for linguistics, or get a PhD?

How do you use linguistics in your job?

What skills do you find yourself using that were cultivated by the study of linguistics?

What challenges did you face when you left academia?

What’s different about the business environment vs. the academic environment?

What classes, outside linguistics, would you advise a student to take to help in the business world?

What professional associations are you a part of? listservs? What meetings do you regularly attend?

What and who are the best resources (things to read, people to speak with) for someone with a particular interest in (your particular interest here)?

What are the most important developing trends that you see in your industry?

Where do you see yet unexplored opportunities for the application of linguistics in your sector?